ITWL unveils new Pirania 'cruise missile'

[Zarvan]

ITWL's turbojet-powered 200mm calibre Pirania surface-to surface effector was first shown at the MSPO exhibition in Kielce, Poland, September 2016. Source: R Hughes
Key Points

• Initial operating capability planned for 2017
• Pirania can also be configured with an electro-optical payload for reconnaissance missions

Poland's Air Force Institute of Technology (Instytut Techniczny Wojsk Lotniczych - ITWL) - a scientific and research organisation supervised by the Polish Ministry of National Defence - has unveiled a new vehicle-launched surface-to-surface missile designed to address fixed and mobile battlefield threats at long range.

ITWL's turbojet-powered Pirania 'cruise missile' is in final development, qualification and testing phase. (R Hughes)

Described by ITWL as a 'ground-launched cruise missile', Pirania is a 200 mm calibre turbojet-powered missile with an effective range of 300 km. The airframe is 80 cm in diameter, 220 cm in length, with a take-off mass of approximately 80 kg and an optimised flight speed of approximately 500 km/h. Operational altitude is given as between 20 m and 3,000 m.

Jaroslaw Sulkowski, ITWL Deputy Director for Development & Implementation, toldIHS Jane's that Pirania is currently in "final development, testing and qualification phase, with an initial operating capability planned for 2017".

Displayed in a mock-up at the MSPO 2016 exhibition in Kielce, Poland, in September, Pirania features two mid-body fixed stub wings and a four-fin tail assembly. ITWL says that the Pirania is launched using rocket-assisted take-off (RATO) from a multi-tube launcher by means of a booster engine, with the main turbojet sustainer engine delivering the mid-course and terminal flight phases. It is unclear if the mid-body wings are retractable, although the tube-launched RATO function would suggest so.

Navigation/guidance is delivered through a global positioning system/inertial navigation system package, and a 5 kg synthetic aperture radar (SAR) payload paired with a Moving Target Indicator. Sulkowski said that ITWL is also evaluating integration of an imaging infrared (IR) and or ultraviolet (UV) seeker payload at the front end of the missile as part of the Pirania development roadmap. By comparing the intensity of the IR and UV parts of the electro-magnetic radiation of a target, the sensor can better distinguish between radiation sources of different temperature.

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